5 Simple & Healthy Gluten-Free...

5 Simple & Healthy Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes

You know it, we know it: Nobody should be denied their right to a good cookie – even if you’ve cut gluten and all its flour-powered uses from your diet. Thanks to a rising awareness of how gluten can damage digestion, recipes with alternative ingredients to all-purpose flour abound. Here’s our Freshly take on five recipes – borrowed from the pages of dedicated, health-conscious baker blogs – that let you make the best gluten-non-grata cookies out there.

(By “best”, we mean low in refined sugars, high in delicious taste, and containing as many nutritious ingredients as possible). Because, cookies.

#1 PALEO COCONUT FLOUR CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES | GOOD FOR: SWEETNESS.

Source: Ambitious Kitchen.

Besides being more delicious than your standard chocolate-chip cookie, this dairy-free, Paleo-inspired recipe from blogger Ambitious Kitchen wins for a few reasons: It subs refined sugar for coconut sugar (you can also use brown sugar or honey). Coconut sugar contains less fructose – and ranks lower in GI – than other sweeteners. It also uses nut butters that are high in heart-healthy fats (like almond butter and peanut butter) instead of margarine. Not to mention the coconut element adds that extra layer of sweetness. All you need is one bowl, 20 minutes, and 8 ingredients. Check out the full recipe here.

We know, we know: Avocado is a pretty unlikely suspect for a cookie recipe. But given avocado’s smooth texture, sweet taste, and tons of fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats (hi, Omega 3) this is a great recipe to prove to your friends that yes, you can make dark green cookies taste good and be healthy. (Our Freshly editor tried this recipe immediately, and loves the chewy contrast of flavors!) Check out the full recipe here.

You don’t get simpler and more reliable than a recipe with two ingredients that you can actually pronounce – even with a mouthful of cookies. This breakfast cookie mix from Ambitious Kitchen uses only mashed bananas and gluten-free oats and contains a tidy 2.1 g of sugar per piece. The recipe can also be used as a re-mixable “base”, meaning you can throw in any extra ingredients your heart desires – like dried cranberries, raisins, chopped walnuts, almonds, pecans, or coconut flakes if you crave more sweetness or flavor. We like. Check out the full recipe here.

These little guys have bacon, maple syrup, and no added sugar. Need we say more? Check out the full recipe here.

Credit: Paleo On A Budget

Ingredients:

4 Slices of Bacon

2-3 Tbsp. Bacon Fat

1 Cup Almond Flour

½ Cup Chocolate Chips

2 Eggs

3 Tbsp. Maple Syrup {Get the good stuff!}

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Nutritional Info: N/A

#5 PB + J HEALTHY OATMEAL COOKIES | GOOD FOR: LOW SUGAR/KIDS

Source: SkinnyTaste

A gluten-free twist on both the classic PB & J sandwich and the peanut butter cookie, these oatmeal cookies are sweet and simple with just four simple ingredients. Make sure to pick jelly that’s low in sugar and gluten-free, and the same goes for the oats (Bob’s Red Mill makes great gluten-free oats). Makes 8 cookies. Check out the full recipe here.